Proposal
by rizandace
Summary: With marriage equality finally legalized throughout the country, Brian has something he wants to ask Justin. That is, if Justin doesn't beat him to it. Warning: this is disgustingly sweet. It might melt your face off. (Still hopefully true to the characters, or at least how I imagine they would be ten years after the series ends).


With marriage equality finally legalized throughout the country, Brian has something he wants to ask Justin. That is, if Justin doesn't beat him to it. Warning: this is disgustingly sweet. It might melt your face off. (Still hopefully true to the characters, or at least how I imagine they would be ten years after the series ends).

* * *

Absurdly, Brian doesn't hear about the supreme court's ruling until he's already in the office. It's only because when he'd woken up that morning, Justin had looked so fucking delicious that he'd had to wake him up to have a taste, which of course then led to a solid thirty minutes of sweat and twisted limbs and pleasure so intense Brian couldn't believe he'd ever thought monogamy would be boring.

In any case, after the thoroughly enjoyable morning fuck, he'd been running late. He didn't check online, and he grabbed his phone on the way out the door, only to discover it was dead. He figured he'd charge it at work. It was still early, after all. Nobody could have anything that important to tell him.

When he got to the office, he'd walked in the door to see Cynthia beaming at him from behind her desk.

"What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Congratulations!" She said, sounding sincere and overwhelmingly happy. Brian just lifted the eyebrow higher. That was when Ted walked around the corner, an equally huge grin on his face.

"Can you believe it, Bri? It finally happened!"

"What the hell are you two going on about?" Brian asked, starting to feel annoyed. He was missing his bed. And the blonde who was probably still asleep in it, the lucky little twat.

"Marriage equality! Don't tell me you didn't hear," Cynthia said, her smile dimming a bit.

Brian felt his eyes go wide. " _Shit_."

He had already shrugged out of his jacket, but he swung his arms back in, heading towards the door. "You two are in charge until I get back."

"Wait, where are you going?" Ted called.

"That little asshole is going to try and beat me to it," Brian hissed.

They'd agreed, years ago, that they'd tie the knot legally once the whole country was allowed. Justin had teased Brian about following in Deb's noble footsteps, but whatever. It was the right decision, one they both felt good about. There had been constant argument about who was going to propose to whom when it happened, and now, damn it, Brian may have blown his chance to ask Justin the question first.

He opened the door to Britin with trepidation, but Justin wasn't waiting in the foyer. Good. Maybe he was still in bed. Maybe he didn't know. That hope was dashed to shreds when he walked towards the living room, to find Justin sitting cross legged on the couch in nothing but his underwear, candles covering every available surface. He was grinning ear to ear.

"Brian Kinney," Justin said, trying to sound solemn. It didn't really work all that well, what with the mischievous glint in his eyes and the way his smile kept growing wider and impossibly wider. "I've loved you from the day – "

"Shut up."

"No way! You got to do it last time, it's my turn!" Justin pouted.

"But we didn't get married last time," Brian pointed out. He crossed the room slowly, sitting down next to Justin on the couch. "Justin, I never thought I'd find somebody that I'd honestly want to spend my life with. I didn't think I was built for it, but then I met you – "

"Nice try, jackass," Justin cut in. "I lit the candles. I get to say it. Now, give me your ring, I wanna give it to you officially."

They'd been wearing their rings for over five years now. Brian rolled his eyes but twisted his ring off of his finger. He didn't hand it over, though. "You give me _your_ ring." Justin took his off as well but kept his hand closed around it, eye Brian suspiciously.

"You and I have been through so much together," Justin started again. "And there were times I seriously thought we wouldn't make it. But no matter how badly you screwed up, how many times you let me walk away – "

Brian snorted. "Very nice, point out my mistakes. What a heartfelt proposal."

"I'd like to see _you_ do better," Justin glowered.

"With pleasure," Brian said, leaning over to kiss Justin lightly on the corner of the mouth, He snatched the ring from Justin's relaxed fist before Justin could say anything about it. "The day you moved back here from New York was honestly the happiest day of my life," Brian said, leaning forward and pushing a hand through Justin's hair. "And yet, somehow, each and every day since then has been even better. I fucking love you so much, and that used to terrify me. I was so sure we'd fuck it up. But I don't feel that way anymore. I know this is real. I know how we both feel, I know who we both are. I plan on spending the rest of my days finding new ways to be happy with you." Brian paused and took a deep breath, only barely managing to hold back a smirk. If the slightly watery look in Justin's eyes was any indication, he was winning. "Justin Taylor – "

"Brian, will you marry me?" Justin interrupted.

Brian stared at him for a long moment, and then narrowed his eyebrows. "You dick!"

Justin burst out laughing, snatching Brian's ring out of his hand. "That's what you get for indulging in overblown, flowery speeches."

Brian reached forward and pinched Justin's arm.

"Ow! So? You got an answer for me, or what?"

"You are so going pay for this later, you fucker," Brian growled. Then he stopped, and he just looked at Justin for a long minute. His eyes were shining with mirth and affection. His hair was still messy from sleep. The candles surrounding them were giving his skin a soft, ethereal glow. Brian suddenly realized that Justin had to have known he'd come rushing home once he heard the news. He'd had the candles ready. The thought that Justin knew him that well – trusted him to know how important this was – made Brian's heart lurch. Fuck, if he'd always known being in love could feel this good...

"Brian? It's not polite to leave me hanging, you know."

"Let's do it," Brian said softly. He bit his lip, sort of hating the way the words had come out all low and breathy.

Justin didn't respond immediately. He just stared at him. The humor drained from his eyes, but the love remained. "Say it."

"Yes."

"Yes what?" Justin looked like he was about to burst into happy tears, and Brian was sure he looked just as pathetically weepy.

"Yes, I will marry you. I will marry you."

Justin shoved Brian's ring back down his finger, and Brian reciprocated. His fingers were actually fucking trembling. Unbelievable.

And then, they were kissing. The candles were glowing. It was the most overblown, romantic, sappy moment of Brian's life, and he was sure if he could have seen this future fifteen years ago, the old Brian would have jumped off of a bridge in utter disgust with himself. But this Brian, the Brian who had found Justin Taylor and then nearly lost him too many times, the Brian who had a teenage son and his own business and a beautiful house and a beautiful partner, this Brian didn't give a shit what the old Brian would have thought.

He couldn't stop touching Justin, couldn't stop kissing him, running hands through his hair, across his shoulders, down the smooth expanse of his chest and back. He could feel Justin's tears on his face, on his lips, and he gripped his partner – his fiancé – tighter to him. "Fuck, Justin. You've turned me into a total goddamn lesbian."

Justin laughed, gripping at Brian's hair. "Do you have to go back to work?" he asked.

"No. They can survive without me for the day." They'd ended up horizontal on the couch, Justin lying under Brian with his legs open, Brian nestled between them. Brian had been divested of his jacket and shirt, so they were lying with naked torsos flush together. Justin ran a finger along Brian's nose and chin.

"You're not angry that I beat you, are you?" Justin asked.

Brian narrowed his eyebrows. "I'm definitely angry," he said. His voice didn't come out harsh the way he wanted it to, so he shrugged and admitted: "But mostly I'm just deliriously happy, so I guess I'll let it slide."

"Deliriously, huh?"

"Mhmm." Brian nuzzled his head into the space below Justin's chin. "You?"

"Incandescently."

"You're such a sap," Brian teased, reaching down to poke Justin's ribs.

"But you love me," Justin sighed happily.

"Obviously. Where the fuck did all these candles come from, anyway?" Brian asked.

"Had them lying around."

"How long have you been planning this?"

Justin shrugged, and Brian felt the movement under him. He still had his head resting on Justin's chest. "Originally there was supposed to be rose petals too, but I had to act fast."

"Weren't you afraid I was going to see all the over the top romantic shit and run screaming for the hills?"

Justin chuckled slightly but didn't answer. Then, he was quiet for a long time. He ran his hands up and down Brian's back in a soothing pattern born of years and years of moments like this one. The rhythm of Justin's heartbeat under his ear, and the lazy, smooth path of Justin's hands had almost lulled Brian to sleep, when Justin finally spoke. "No, I wasn't afraid. I'm really not afraid anymore. It's the most wonderful gift you've given me – the gift of knowing you'd say yes."

Brian couldn't really think of what to say to that, so he just leaned up a bit and kissed Justin's jaw before settling his face back down on his chest. He drifted into a state of half-sleep that way, with Justin still running his hands up and down his back, the warm metal of his newly restored ring creating a soothing contrast.

Eventually, Brian would have to plug his phone in. He'd probably have a thousand calls from Mikey, from Ted and Cynthia about work, from Linds and Mel and Gus. People would be all weepy and sentimental and huggy, and while Brian had to admit he didn't mind it from Justin, he wasn't exactly looking forward to the parade of teeth-rotting sweetness to come. Eventually, they'd have to get up and clean up the mess from nearly one hundred candles thrown hastily into position around the room. Brian would have to pull himself away from this, from Justin's body, his warmth.

But for now, he had this. And even though nothing had really changed in terms of their lives and their futures, Brian felt absurdly, deliriously, _incandescently_ happy to know he was going to have this for the rest of his life.

"Should we let Carl and Deb go first?" Justin murmured sleepily, scratching his nails lightly down Brian's side.

"And Drew and Em, don't forget," Brian replied. The two of them had gotten engaged the year previously, when Pennsylvania had legalized gay marriage. Emmett's wedding plans were so ridiculously overblown that he'd needed over a year to plan – they were having their destination wedding at the end of the summer.

"Right."

"Do you still want the golden gardenias?"

Justin blinked, nudging Brian's head up with his own so he could look at his eyes. "You remembered."

"Duh."

"I don't need them."

"That's not what I asked."

Justin smiled, one of those crazy smiles that gave him his nickname and made Brian feel all gooey inside. He'd stopped fighting it years ago and let himself feel happy when his partner looked at him like that. "Yeah, I still want them. But hey..." he slapped at Brian's side for a minute and pushed. Brian forced himself reluctantly off of Justin's body and went back to sitting up. Justin immediately dove under his arm and wrapped himself around him. "I was thinking... what about just you and me?"

"Are you serious? You want to elope? Your mother would murder me."

Justin considered this. "And I suppose Michael would probably murder _me_. But we should keep it small."

Brian chuckled. "How the hell are we going to do that? We have to invite Mikey, Ben, Hunter, and that new girl he's seeing. Deb and Carl. Your mother, Tuck, Molly, Daphne and Allan, Gus, the munchers, JR. Ted and Blake. Drew and Emmett. Cyn and Darrin..."

"Okay, okay, fine. I resign myself to a giant, spectacular queer wedding," Justin sighed. "Which is what you wanted all along, isn't it?"

"Please. A giant party dedicated to me. That doesn't exactly sound like something I'd say no to."

"Dedicated to us."

Brian shrugged. "We'll see. Depends on if I'm feeling generous."

Justin smacked him, Brian pinched him back. Of course, this led to soothing apology kisses which led to hungry, passionate kisses which led to fucking on the couch surrounded precariously by still-burning candles.

Brian was looking forward to marrying Justin in ways he couldn't have expected, but even in the midst of monumental, governmental, exciting and long-overdue change, it was nice to know some things would stay the same.

* * *

My goal for this story was to find a way to make Brian and Justin being all romantic and sappy into something that I could see canonically happening. I liked the idea of making them compete for who could out-do the other in the cheese department. I'd love to know what you guys think. I'm still very new to writing these characters, and I'd love some honest feedback, positive or negative. Happy Marriage Equality, everybody!


End file.
